COMING JUNE 24, 2025
AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER @ yr fave bookstore/WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD!
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They say be careful what you wish for…
For Lydia, Jenny, and Selene, au pairing in Seoul is the opportunity of a lifetime. Lydia wants nothing more than to transform into a leading lady; Jenny is determined to swear off love for good 5,955 miles away from her ex; and Selene is convinced working in Korea will finally lead her to her biological mother.
During a combined family vacation with their host families, the women visit an enchanted waterfall on Jeju Island and make a wish under a full moon. Overnight, everything changes. Suddenly, Lydia is the girl everyone wants—except, strangely, her mysterious art class partner from Spain. Jenny is having secret, no-strings-attached fun with her host mom’s irresistible younger brother. And Selene is finally getting somewhere in her search for her mother thanks to a research-savvy photographer.
But when Jenny’s romantic feelings begin to deepen, she realizes her wish is standing in the way of true, lasting love. Her decision to return to the waterfall will have unexpected consequences and force the au pairs to confront a new question altogether: Could it be that their friendship was the real magic all along?
"A gorgeously romantic exploration of what it means to fall in love, layered with a touch of magic and incredible food. You’ll be booking a ticket to Seoul after reading!"
―Lily Chu, author of The Comeback
Praise for Leesa Cross-Smith
“Leesa Cross-Smith is a consummate storyteller.” ―Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author
“I can’t help devouring Leesa Cross-Smith’s prose like it’s candy, with turns of phrase so unexpected and delightful, so uniquely her own, that I just want to chew and chew them…Goodbye Earl makes murder as delicious as cherry pie.” ―Rufi Thorpe, author of The Knockout Queen and The Girls From Corona Del Mar
“Cross-Smith’s incredible, easy voice will make your skin crawl one moment and give you goosebumps the next, then smooth out your frazzled emotions with a contented, sunshiny vibe two pages later.” ―Associated Press
“Leesa Cross-Smith’s richly vivid prose pulls you in and transports you to Paris [in Half-Blown Rose]…An utterly intoxicating story of love, betrayal, and loyalty.” ―Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising
“A brilliant, sexy, funny masterpiece. Reading her stunning prose is a full-blown experience. Within the deeply intimate worlds she conjures [in Half-Blown Rose], she captures love, lust, and longing with such emotional intricacy and verve, I’m fairly certain I read this entire book with my hand pressed against my heart.” ―Deesha Philyaw, author of National Book Award 2020 finalist The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
“By far the most exhilarating and sexy American-in-Paris story I’ve ever read. Leesa Cross-Smith’s Half-Blown Rose is smart, intriguing, and pure delight.” ―Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers
“This Close to Okay hits the ground running. Cross-Smith writes tenderly about the trial and error of intimacy and draws you in with enormous warmth and control.” ―Raven Leilani, New York Times bestselling author of Luster
“[In So You Can Glow,] Leesa Cross-Smith writes the way many people wish they could: ferociously, tenderly, and with a tremendous amount of heart.” ―Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things